1. Shayna
CHAPTER 1
Shayna
Present Day -Thursday
I place the final dried dish in the cabinet and close the door. I grab the towel from the island counter and begin to wipe the water from around the sink when I hear the doorbell. I smile knowing it’s my best friend finally making it here from Florida. I toss the towel back to the counter and make my way to the door.
I hear Landon’s door to his room open. “I got it. It’s probably Lexi,” I say as he rounds the corner. I open the door, and she is standing there with her signature backpack slung over her shoulder and a duffle bag on the ground. My face lights up at her and I immediately engulf her in a hug. “Finally. How was the drive?” I ask.
I feel her arm, not holding the backpack’s strap, circle my waist. “It was okay. Long but not bad.” She sounds tired or something just doesn’t seem right. She doesn’t sound like herself.
“Come on in. Where’s the rest of your stuff?” I ask her as I move out of her way. She reaches down to pick up the duffle bag from the floor and steps inside.
“In my car. I can grab the rest later.”
“Hey Lexi,” Landon says waving from the hallway.
“Hey,” she says and gives him a small smile before dropping her eyes. I can definitely tell something is off about her.
I close the door behind us and walk behind her heading to the living room. She drops her bag by the couch, pulls her backpack off her shoulder, and gently sits.
I sit down next to her. I look over at Landon who gives me an inquisitive look. I motion my head to tell him to go back to his room. His eyes go back to Lexi and I can see the sadness in them. Lexi has been a part of our family for a while now. My kids are close to her like she is their aunt.
When I hear the door softly click closed, I gently lay my hand on Lexi’s knee. When I make contact she jumps all over but quickly recovers with a little chuckle. She looks at me with a small smile. “Sorry. You scared me,” she says.
“I didn’t mean to, Lex. What’s going on? You’re not acting like yourself,” I say in a quiet voice, nervous to scare her again.
Her eyes drop to her hands that are clasped in her lap, and she shakes her head. “It’s nothing…”
I cut her off quickly. “Do not lie to me and don’t treat me like a fool. You’re my best friend and I can tell when something is wrong.” I say the last words quietly. “Talk to me, Lexi. Please?”
She slowly lifts her eyes to mine and they are filled with tears. I stare into her gorgeous green eyes, giving her a moment to gather her thoughts, as the tears pool over and cascade down her cheeks.
“Talk to me,” I repeat. “Please tell me what’s going on,” I soothingly say trying to coax her to actually communicate. “Is it Jason?”
She bites her bottom lip and nods slowly.
“What happened?” I ask scooting closer to her on the couch and moving my arm around her shoulder pulling her into my side. Her head falls onto my shoulder and she begins to cry. My hand drops and I begin to rub her back in slow circles.
“I… I can’t,” she stutters through her cries. “He… I don’t… I’m so ashamed,” she sputters as her hands cover her face.
“Ashamed of what babe? Talk to me, please. You’re scaring me,” I say in almost a whisper. I don’t want to make her nervous or cause her to revert back into herself. I need her to tell me what the hell is wrong.
I know she caught him cheating but other than that, we haven’t really spoken about her leaving him. Her hands drop from her face but she still doesn’t look at me.
“I shouldn’t have let it get so far. But…” She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “At first… I thought maybe it was me. Something I was doing wrong. But as time went on, no matter what I did…” she trails off shaking her head.
“What is it, Lexi? What happened?”
Her eyes finally lift to mine, and the pain and hurt are so visceral that I can almost feel it myself. I hate seeing her like this. To everyone else, she may seem quiet and maybe even cold, but to me, she is so loving, down to earth, and funny.
She takes a deep breath gathering her courage. “I left because… he hits me, Shay.”
I take a slow, deep intake of breath. I had a feeling from the bruises I had seen on her before. But she always had a good excuse. And if I would have questioned her or accused him, I knew at that time, she might have withdrawn from me. And I could have lost my friend.
“How long?” I ask. It’s honestly the only words I can come up with right now. I’m furious. At him for doing this to my beautiful friend. And at her for not telling me.
“A while,” she responds. I look at her and remain quiet. Her eyes are still downcast at her clasped hands in her lap. I still don’t say anything. When her eyes hesitantly lift to mine, my brow lifts questioningly. “A long while,” is all she says.
My hand continues to rub circles on her back. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe now and you do not have to ever go back to that. You can’t,” I say.
Slowly she drops her head on my shoulder again and I can feel the tears soaking into my shirt. I lay my cheek on her head. I’m just thankful she got away. Too many times I’ve heard of women being killed in that type of situation.
“Please tell me you’re not going to go back,” I say quietly. She shakes her head while still resting on my shoulder. I breathe a sigh of relief.
After settling Lexi into her room, I sit on my bed and rest my arms on my knees with my head in my hands. She cried for a long time and wore herself out. All I can think now is What the actual fuck !
I knew she had changed significantly over the last year. Our time together had grown few and far between, but I thought it was just our schedules being so different. At least that’s what she kept telling me.
I had seen the bruises a couple of times, but when I questioned her, she gave me excuses that made sense. I guess I really just wanted to believe—or, better, I didn't want to believe what I thought.
I’m still letting my imagination run wild with everything she said when my phone vibrates on my bedside table. I heave a heavy breath and reach over and grab it. I see the handsome face smiling at me from the screen as I swipe the green button to answer Camden’s call.
“Hey, Princess. How was your day?” he asks me in his deep voice. Just hearing his calming voice makes me smile even if just a little.
“Hey, baby. It’s been…” I think about how I’m going to tell him that my best friend and one of his close friends have been abused for at least the last year. Hell, I don’t even know how long it’s been going on. “…enlightening, to say the least,” I finish.
Camden’s end of the line goes quiet. “Do tell,” he says, sounding curious. I chuckle at him. He knows me better than anyone. We’ve known each other since we were young.
“Lexi finally showed up,” I tell him. “She’s… not herself to say the least.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” He asks, now sounding concerned.
I release a heavy sigh and lay back on the bed with my feet still on the floor. “It’s bad, Cam. Real bad. I feel terrible. I should have seen this. I should have noticed.”
I can tell by the change in his voice that he’s paying close attention and he’s also worried. “Notice what, Shayna. What’s going on?” He asks.
“You know she left Jason, right?”
“About time she left that piece of shit,” he replies.
“She… “ I hesitate, taking a deep breath, because I know Cam is about to get really angry. “She left him because he hit her,” I finish quietly, hoping to lessen the blow.
“What?” he asks in a low, deep growl. He’s mad. Lexi has been my best friend for a couple of years now and he knows I care for her deeply. And not just as a friend either.
Camden and I have tried the polyamorous relationship before but it didn’t work. The girl, Alyssa, couldn’t handle the both of us. We talked about Lexi but we didn’t want to bring it up while she was with Jason. We’ve flirted before and joked around when we’ve been drinking but nothing serious.
I know Cam has feelings for her as well, but he isn’t open about them. I can tell though and I’m okay with it. I think he’s just nervous because of Alyssa.
“She told me tonight. She broke down in tears, Cam,” I say with tears pooling in my eyes. The anger and pain start rising again. “I’m so fucking angry,” I grit out.
I hear Cam take a deep breath and then release it. “I know, Princess. I am too. But she’s away from him now. Let’s focus on getting her feeling better and looking to the future,” he says and I know he’s right.
“Okay,” I finally say in a quiet voice. We sit there listening to each other breathe for a few moments before I speak again.
“How was your day, baby?” I ask and we begin to talk like we do every night when he’s away for work. Sometimes he has to travel for his job. When he does, he’s usually gone all week only to come home on the weekend. He’s been gone since Monday and should be home tomorrow evening.
We eventually say our goodbyes and hang up. I lay in bed a little longer thinking about everything before finally falling asleep.